As Robert A. Peck returns to the headquarters of the General Services Administration as Public Buildings Service commissioner, he may have some déjà vu moments. Peck, whose new appointment as PBS chief was announced on Aug. 10, held that job from 1995 to 2001. Once again, he will be in charge of design, construction and management for the 354 million sq ft of offices, courthouses and other facilities Uncle Sam owns or leases. He says it’s “the best job in real estate.”
But the situation is very different from that of a decade ago. The recession has hit construction hard, and GSA has a big role in trying to engineer a rebound. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act gave the agency $5.55 billion to spend on buildings, including $4.3 billion for energy-efficiency upgrades. For PBS, Peck says, “The first, second and third priorities, going down the list to 10,” will be “to carry out the recovery-act projects...as fast as possible in order to create jobs and also in as effective a way as possible.” He says that means “turning the money into energy-conservation outcomes in public buildings” and leaving “a long-term legacy” for the country.